<p>You may find this interesting;
“Here, however, is what was explosive: Dale and Krueger concluded that students, who were accepted into elite schools, but went to less selective institutions, earned salaries just as high as Ivy League grads. For instance, if a teenager gained entry to Harvard, but ended up attending Penn State, his or her salary prospects would be the same. In the pair’s newest study, the findings are even more amazing. Applicants, who shared similar high SAT scores with Ivy League applicants could have been rejected from the elite schools that they applied to and yet they still enjoyed similar average salaries as the graduates from elite schools. In the study, the better predictor of earnings was the average SAT scores of the most selective school a teenager applied to and not the typical scores of the institution the student attended.”</p>
<p>^ I’m well aware of that study, as are most of us on CC. I do believe that the high-end engineering student will earn about as much after Bama as after other elite schools. The question is where. If a northeast kid ultimately wants to stay in the northeast, would they regret passing up CMU/RPI/etc. for Bama? The Sun Belt is growing, and the Huntsville research park is nice, but it may not be right for everyone. Do Bama grads get recruited and hired by distant employers? Does the Bama degree open doors at northeast tech companies or on Wall Street? Actual anecdotes would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Can’t speak to post-undergrad, but DS is a second-year Comp Sci (Engr) at UA, high stats from Illinois, had his pick of the rest here (Purdue, UofI etc.) wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else.</p>
<p>Chardo: I can’t speak about UA as D is only a sophomore. But I CAN talk about my friends kids experiences after graduation from other SEC schools post graduation: close friends of ours have triplets who graduated from University of Tennessee Knoxville (2 kids) and University of Tennessee Chattanooga (1 kid) in 2009. Bad year for trying to get a job right? </p>
<p>Well, UTK grad one landed a place with Proctor & Gamble’s management training program specifically in logistics & operations. His first year was spent in their Englewood Cliffs, NJ location. He lived in Hoboken & spent the year working hard & getting to know about life in the NYC area. Next year, he went to Indiana (not so glamorous But he’s back in Englewood Cliffs this year. Making really good money with a solid company.</p>
<p>UTK grad two finished her Masters in Education & got a job locally right away. Started her 2nd year in the classroom. Not really relevant to your concerns but didn’t want to short change her ;)</p>
<p>UTC grad (which is much smaller & doesn’t get as many recruiters as UTK) landed a job in with a major health insurance company based in CT and is now based in Dallas. Doing even better than her brother financially. Huge money for a 24 year old, no matter where you’re based. </p>
<p>Parents are thrilled as they were concerned with the economic news as the kids were getting ready to graduate. They are originally from the North as well (we all manage to find one another down here!) and their nieces & nephews who have stayed back home have not had the same opportunities as their SEC graduated kids have had.</p>
<p>Again, not quite speaking to your concerns about Engineering, but the SEC networking community seems to be quite strong, even when outside of the region.</p>
<p>ABXY Gaming Network
AMF Bama Lanes
Bama Anime and Manga Association
Capstone Church
Capstone International
FATE
Hillel
NPHC Homecoming Events
Office of Information Technology
Resonance Show Choir
Sports Clubs</p>
<p>I’m well aware of that study, as are most of us on CC. I do believe that the high-end engineering student will earn about as much after Bama as after other elite schools. The question is where. If a northeast kid ultimately wants to stay in the northeast, would they regret passing up CMU/RPI/etc. for Bama? The Sun Belt is growing, and the Huntsville research park is nice, but it may not be right for everyone. Do Bama grads get recruited and hired by distant employers? Does the Bama degree open doors at northeast tech companies or on Wall Street? Actual anecdotes would be appreciated. </p>
<p>Chardo…We are not in attendance yet at UA as my D is a senior, however, we did visit campus this summer and spent a lot of time with the head of the department that D is looking to major in. My thoughts were the same as yours…wondering if my D attended school at UA, would she be restricted to staying in the SE for her career. My question to the department head was: Can you tell me where your past two graduating classes of students in this major have ended up. She was able to give me a listing…many went to grad school, and the grad schools listed were from big name to smaller schools and were located all over the US. The others had jobs in many areas of the US also. There were many in the SE, but there were also a good number in California, Chicago, Boston and other big cities.</p>
<p>However, I do have to say that we met many faculty and staff during our time visiting and I was stunned at the number of people who were from the Midwest…and they were VERY vocal about NEVER going back and stating how much they loved the South and the way of life. </p>
<p>I do highly recommend a visit to campus and a Honors College tour arranged by Allison. We have been to 15 campus tours and UA was easily the top one. It is worth the time, and money in getting a real feel for the campus and dedication of HC to student success.</p>
<p>*I do believe that the high-end engineering student will earn about as much after Bama as after other elite schools. The question is where. If a northeast kid ultimately wants to stay in the northeast, would they regret passing up CMU/RPI/etc. for Bama? The Sun Belt is growing, and the Huntsville research park is nice, but it may not be right for everyone. Do Bama grads get recruited and hired by distant employers? Does the Bama degree open doors at northeast tech companies or on Wall Street? Actual anecdotes would be appreciated. </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>There is a post on this thread from a recent Bama Chem Engineering grad that was recruited to work for a major corp…</p>
<p>*I just graduated with a ChemE degree in December 2010. I now work for P&G as a process engineer. </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>And, even if a student were to be recruited by a Fortune 500 company in Cummings Research Park (or does an internship/co-op), that is a serious “foot in the door” for employment elsewhere.</p>
<p>I will try to find out more about national recruiting. I know it exists, I just don’t know all the company names off hand.</p>
<p>Yes, it looks like all of the Elite scholarships (NMF, UFE, NAA Crimson) now offer an iPad instead of the laptop.</p>
<p>I’m glad the kids got the laptop this year, as D is really appreciating having a new laptop. The new one is more powerful than her old one, which will be returning home with us whenever we go down to visit her. We had bought her an iPad as her graduation present, so the laptop was a much better fit for her this year.</p>
<p>Well, UA is seeming an even better fit for D. We finally sat down and talked about what interests her in terms of a possible major/career. She loves reading, writing, latin, spanish, and books. We talked about journalism and then about a masters in library science. The American Library Association lists accredited programs and Alabama was on there! Maybe that is a sign! </p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience with this program either at UA or elsewhere? Any ideas for a good undergrad major? </p>
<p>Our only other hangup is that there are no direct flights to Birmingham. We are from the Cleveland, Ohio area. Can anyone tell us how your student handles switching planes and navigating airports? DD has only traveled a few times and with us. She is smart, but not exactly street smart. She is also shy. I worry about her handling the travel on her own.
We will fly together when we go for our visit. How big is the Birmingham airport? </p>
<p>We live in the Birmingham area and it is about the easiest airport we’ve ever dealt with! The drive to Tuscaloosa is a breeze. We are Bama grads and our S will be there Fall 2012.</p>
<p>The b’ham airport is not that big and is very easy to navigate. It’s not an intimidating airport at all. </p>
<p>*Does anyone have any experience with this program either at UA *</p>
<p>there was a thread about Bama’s Library Science program awhile back. I’ll see if I can find it. </p>
<p>I totally understand the concern about changing planes, etc. My younger son has a lot of street smarts, but my older son is more shy. So, we prepared him for flying/changing planes by going with him the first time, but having him “do all the work” so to speak…as if we weren’t there. </p>
<p>Once a kid does the kiosk thing, checks the electronic boards, goes to the counter, checks his bags, finds any trams/gates, etc, he realizes that it’s not too hard. </p>
<p>It’s hard to “step back and shush up” because as parents our first instinct is to handle everything when traveling.</p>
<p>linnylu: I’m an academic librarian, 3 1/2 years removed from getting my Masters. I didn’t go to UA’s program, but it is well regarded. UA also has a creative writing minor.</p>
<p>Linnylu…you can use Southwest and while they don’t fly nonstop to B’ham, they have the best performance along with truly helpful staff. I would recommend that you put your son on the flight that connects thru Nashville. It is an easy airport to navigate.</p>
<p>My D has traveled to CA, FL and NC on her own for training camps and National championships. I never hesitate when she is on Southwest. She has changed planes in Phoenix and Orlando, and when she did have a flight delay (Tampa), and a flight cancellation Tampa again, she just went to the desk and they were more than happy to help her out.</p>
<p>When we flew in to Birmingham I was very impressed with how nicely laid out is was and coming home going thru security was pretty painless, well as painless as that can be. They were friendly and definitely nicer than TSA at my own home airport.
Hope this helps-</p>
<p>Thanks for the thought about the Nashville Airport being easier to navigate.
Any thoughts about Memphis, Chicago, Atlanta, or Charlotte airports- all other layover airports for the Cleveland to Birmingham flights. I did see that there are direct flights between Detroit and Birmingham.</p>
<p>The Memphis airport is nothing to worry about. Three terminals, all connected and not really very large. Most flights will go through the same terminal. At worst you will have to change airlines and switch terminals, that would take about 10 - 15 minutes to walk.</p>
<p>The Birmingham airport is a great starter airport for an inexperienced flyer. The airport is compact and easy to navigate and the the people are friendly. In terms of connections, Chicago and Atlanta might be overwhelming for an inexperienced flyer – and I would avoid Chicago, if at all possible, during the winter to lessen the likelihood of flight delays or cancellations due to whether. Even if you are originating in the north, it is better to minimize the number of stops that are likely to be subject to bad weather.</p>
<p>One thing that I’ve found helpful to keep ME calm when my kids fly somewhere alone is to have them call me when they land – and then again when they find their connecting gate (or the person who is picking them up if no connection is involved.)</p>
<p>linnylu…Avoid Atlanta at all costs. It is the busiest airport and very large. Detroit would not be recommended for connections during November thru March due to weather. Actually Chicago Midway is a great connection point if you are flying Southwest, with a few exceptions, almost all of their flights are in one terminal. But keep in mind during the winter there can be weather delays. I agree about Memphis airport and Charlotte is a great airport to change planes in.</p>
<p>Whenever my kids are traveling I make sure that they have cash, a debit card (just in case), ID and snacks, along with ipod. They also have the number of the airline that they are flying on in their phone. If there is a cancellation, it can be much faster for them to call reservations directly and get put on a flight rather than waiting in a long line to talk to a res agent.</p>
<p>They text me when they get on the plane and text me when the plane lands. And for my own peace of mind, I watch the flight status on flightstats. com. Usually if there is a delay I know about before they do and can quicly make alternate plans.</p>
<p>Your child will do great. It is a good life lesson to travel alone and figure it all out. I remember when my DD’s plane was delayed for 6 hours in Tampa…then cancelled. She was put on the last flight of the night and needless to say I was a wreck at the thought of her spending 8 hours in the terminal! I called her at one point and asked her what she was doing…she was sitting in the Chili’s in the terminal watching the storm roll having a shake and fries. In her mind it was all good. lol</p>
But he’s back in Englewood Cliffs this year. Making really good money with a solid company.</p>